related stories

Swans frustrate Liverpool

Brendan Rodgers was unable to get the better of his former club on his return to the Liberty Stadium as Liverpool played out a goalless draw with Swansea City.

Both sides have both been in decent form over the past few weeks and it was an absorbing game from the start, with Liverpool carving out the better chances in the first half but unable to break the deadlock.

The closest they came was just after the half-hour mark, when Raheem Sterling was denied by the width of the crossbar as he thumped a ferocious volley against the woodwork.

Jose Enrique also had a goal disallowed for offside after sliding in on Luis Suarez's cross, while Glen Johnson headed over from a corner before being thwarted by a Gerhard Tremmel stop.

Swansea played their part, though, with Pepe Reina forced to produce a good save from Wayne Routledge's strike and Pablo Hernandez curling a delightful effort narrowly wide from outside the area.

The stalemate continued after the interval as Michu's header was kept out by Reina and Routledge and Hernandez both had penalty appeals turned down, while Ashley Williams also had an effort cleared off the line during a good spell for the home side.

There was an injury scare for Reina when he rushed off his line and was clattered into by Nathan Dyer, as the match stretched from end to end with both teams hunting for a winner.

Liverpool looked dangerous on the counter-attack and nearly snatched a last-gasp goal when Jonjo Shelvey's drive was repelled by Tremmel, and the referee waved play on after Steven Gerrard went down under pressure from Chico.

In the end both sides had to settle for a point apiece and a result which keeps them in mid-table, with Liverpool now unbeaten in eight but still one point behind Swansea.